Bucky_McLachlan wrote...
You obviously do not understand the argument.
No one would dispute that Kaidan could've been a Spectre too if only he had all the experience and qualifications of Commander Shepard. It's not a question of who is capable of what, the problem is that Mass Effect 2 has really bad story problems, much of which could have been eliminating if not for Shepard being killed and brought back for completely illogical reasons. They could've had Shepard survive the attack on the ship with serious injuries.
Doing this would've eliminated the following:
- Cerberus retconning, although Shepard could've still joined with them after getting patched up since the Council and Alliance refuse to help him go against the real threat and at least the player could have felt more like it was their choice to do this rather than being forced to do it because their character died.
- Shadow Broker retconning. What the f*ck ever happened to The Shadow Broker offering some assistance in the future in exchange for me providing him information on Cerberus?
- Shepard being anything more than the most badass of badasses. He didn't need to be Jesus Christ too.
- Ashley/Kaidan turning their back on Shepard for the most stupid reason possible: The Council has "dismissed" the Reaper claim and sullied Shepard's good name.
- Liara's character being completely thrown out the window.
You see the problem people are having here has everything to do with the sh*tty story, and the problem with the story is...well a lot of things, but the specific problem here is the only reason Shepard is even involved is because some secret shadow organization spent millions to bring this dude back from the dead because he gives good speaches and ****.
The least they could've done was make the Prothean Cypher and Beacons matter again, because honestly other than his military experience and qualifications that was the one thing that made him unique, and the only thing that would justify spending a ridiculous amount of credits to bring him back to life.
This is an excellent analysis as to describing the base problem with ME2: right from the start; I never expected using a Deus Ex Machina at the beginning of a tale. My guess is the marketing/E3 blitz.
Though it is not necessary to constantly reaffirm to the viewer the characters are the only right people for the right job, and to provide them with many clear reasons why this is, (since that may not be the point of the story), it most definitely puts the protagonist, and other characters, center stage. It describes who they are, what they are, and also could provide why (motivation) they're doing what they're doing, etc. This is kind of the attitude comic books have -- like Spider-Man -- the more times the name "Spider-Man" is said or referenced, it reaffirms their importance within the narrative, regardless of the story. The viewer then goes "So why is Spider-Man so important?" Then the narrative should show and tell it.
If we do this with ME2, we have a few glib comments and looks of surprise as people notice Shepard, resurrected or not. The point of those scenes (Shiala, Parasini, Mouse, etc.), is all you need, but definitely not in most scenes (Liara, Ashley/Kaidan, the Council.) This must also be key and meaningful to the plot: the antagonist, the opposing force, any conflict they have against the protagonist, and referes to them in the narrative (or in some way we can comprehend). Then, we need to know why. The more reasons, the more relevant to those individuals, and thus the more integrated into the plot: the more we care and see these characters as unique individuals.
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